Review: Anker PowerCore Fusion 10000

Nerd Reactor met with Anker at CES 2019 and took a look at some of their recent innovations. Enter the Anker PowerCore Fusion 10000. It is a one-stop travel tool to keep your phone charged in the hotel as well as on the go. Instead of having to carry both a wall charger and a battery pack, why not just carry one device that does it all. The Anker PowerCore Fusion 10000, rated at 10,000 mAh, builds on an already proven platform from the Anker PowerCore Fusion 5000. Essentially we are talking about twice the capacity with this newer version. 10,000 mAh is enough to charge most phones twice. For the majority, this is more than enough for 1 or 2 days away from a power outlet.

I am a huge fan of the foldable charging prongs which is a feature that Anker deploys in most of its products. This is a commonly overlooked feature until you are packing one of these babies into your suitcase and see those protruding prongs sometimes poking through the mesh. At a nice square shape, this Anker PowerCore 10000 folds and packs away nicely. Also, on the body of this device is a circular 8-light battery indicator which you can press to check the battery level.

Charging Output

This charger has 2 plugs for your devices; one is a USB-C and the other is a legacy USB-A. For the enthusiast, you would be mostly using the USB-C port which maxes out at 15 W on this device. In contrast, the legacy USB-A maxes out at 12 W. Both of these ports take advantage of Anker’s charging technology called PowerIQ which auto adjusts to the max input of your device and adjusts the charging wattage accordingly so you can rest assured that your devices will charge fast. Both plugs can be utilized at the same time for dual device charging granted that one is via USB-C and the other is USB-A.

How fast will my phone charge?

One may notice the absence of the USB-PD standard from this product which may up the charging speed to 18 W for the latest Google Pixel series phones. I found this extra bump to be negligible when compared with the Google Stock 18 Watt USB-PD Wall Adapter. Anker’s PowerIQ does a good job of negotiating a 15 W charging session with the latest phones. I performed tests between the 20% to 80% charging hot-spot where most devices “fast charge.” My results show that the Anker PowerCore Fusion 10000 was able to keep up with stock Google USB-PD chargers within a minute. This testing shows that the Anker device was able to sustain speeds that match the Pixel 3’s maximum sustained fast charging speed. It was definitely food for thought when I was crunching the numbers see the charging speeds so evenly matched.

How many times can I charge my phone?

I was able to charge my Google Pixel 3 from 20% to 80% for 4 cycles before the battery complained with a blinking single light. From calculations, this in the ballpark of 80% efficiency between phone and battery. No battery transfer mechanism is 100% efficient, so these are acceptable numbers.

Charging the Anker PowerCore Fusion 10000

From 1 dot to a full 8 dots, the Anker PowerCore Fusion 10000 charged fully in 5 hours 9 minutes. This is in line with most other USB battery products which is meant for charging overnight. One thing to note with the Anker PowerCore Fusion 10000 is that it does not charge both phone and battery at the same time. This product prioritizes phone charging first, then moves on to the battery. It’s still a plugin overnight and forget it type product, but it’s definitely something to take note of in case you are trying to kill 2 birds with one stone in the middle of the day.

My impressions of the Anker PowerCore Fusion 10000 is overall positive as an all-in-one travel companion. It would suit the need of most travelers who rely heavily on their electronics. One other plus that must be mentioned is Anker’s superior customer service. By scanning through random Amazon reviews, you will never see a negative review without a response and resolution from Anker. Anker as a company believes strongly in their products and will strive hard to 100% customer satisfaction. You can’t go wrong with Anker products, and that is why I recommend them to all my friends and family.

The Anker PowerCore Fusion 10000 has an intended Q1 2019 release date in the US, but we are not able to find it anywhere on the Anker website, nor on Amazon. We guarantee it does exist, there’s one sitting on my desk, but maybe and hopefully we’ll see it available soon.